Bill Gates had been number 1 on the Forbes list for 15 consecutive years, the agency said.

Las Vegas Sands Corp Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson's net worth
declined $4 billion during the period, the steepest drop among
Americans who lost $1 billion or more during the credit crisis, the agency said.

Forbes could not be immediately reached by Reuters.

(Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore, editing by Will Waterman)